Knowledge, Institutions and Gender: an East-West comparative study

Building on scholarship in feminist philosophy and social studies of science, the project will examine the role of gender in the production of knowledge contexts and cultures in an East-West perspective in two scientific fields (sociology and biology). While critiques of science and situated conceptions of knowledge have been developed in western Euro-American contexts, traditional assumptions of knowledge production were largely unexamined in the former state-socialist countries. The absence of local examinations of knowledge contexts currently jeopardises effective implementation of gender equality in the ERA. A summary report will give account of national practices and the role of gender in knowledge contexts, identify potential differences due to historical divergences in Eastern and Western Europe, and make recommendations for the promotion of gender equality and the engagement of young people in science. Findings will be disseminated at national and EU levels to influence science policies and to encourage the establishment of feminist science studies.